Why tour pros like Scottie Scheffler love this simple grip check

The next time you’re parked outside the ropes (or on the bench) and watching your favorite tour pros on the field – analyzing their routines in hopes of stealing something for your own game – look beyond the obvious. Instead of getting carried away with flashy training aids or complex exercises, shift your focus to one of the most important aspects of the game: the handle.

More specifically, how they got control of the club.

John Scott Rattan, a GOLF Top 100 teacher, recently revealed the quick and easy trick tour pros use to get their fix. It’s known as a stand-up grip, and it’s an easy way to control the position of your clubface at address.

“You see Scottie Scheffler every day at the range doing something like this to check his grip so the face is square,” says Rattan.

Done right, this quick grip check can significantly improve the quality of your shots. Here’s how Rattan learns it – and how you can use it during your practice sessions.

The standing grip, explained

To perform a standing grip check, start with your normal setup. From there you stand up without adjusting your hands on the club. Extend your arms fully as you lift the club until it extends straight in front of you, almost parallel to the ground.

Now loosen your wrists while maintaining your grip. It should feel like your hands are tilting forward as the weight of the club sinks into them. If you do it right, the back of the club will point towards your face and the club head will drop slightly so that it falls straight along your eye line. This will give you a clear idea of ​​your club face position and allow you to identify any manipulations you may be unconsciously making at address.

“Read” your clubface like a clock

Before you can diagnose a problem or apply a solution, you need to know what to look for when checking your clubface in the standing grip. To make it easier, Rattan suggests a simple image: think of the club face as a clock.

Square – 12 hours

Closed – 11am

Open – 1 hour

Avoid this common mistake

The standing grip can also reveal a player’s habits and tendencies. One of the most common mistakes Rattan sees among amateurs during this exercise is starting from a bad position.

“The face is king in the game,” he says, “So if the face is bad to begin with, you have to compensate for it somewhere.”

For example, many amateurs unconsciously went to the ball with a closed clubface. According to Rattan, when you turn the clubface closed (or to the left, for right-handed players), it signals to your brain that you’ve taken the loft off the club and, unless you’re deliberately trying to hit a low shot, you should add it later in your swing.

This can lead to compensations such as swinging excessively to the right or throwing the hands too late to regain loft. And if you can’t add loft again, the dreaded low-and-left miss can sneak up on you.

“If we start doing it [the clubface] square, then on the downswing we have the incentive to take the loft out of the club, rather than adding loft to it,” he continues, “so you want to have a built-in incentive.”

Another tour-trusted trick for a square face

In addition to the standing grip, Rattan says there’s another clever trick you can use to square your club face, just like the pros.

‘Put it [your clubface] at a right angle and grab him,” he says, “Xander Schauffele does the same.”

By using the standing grip or the 90-degree method, you square your clubface every time and train your eyes to recognize what a square clubface looks like so you can spot any manipulations before they wreak havoc on your swing.

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